Phoenix Rising 2 - Settling In
by lynnwiley
Summary: Follows "First Meeting". Hera is quickly getting used to her new family and her own abilities while the eternal teens discover that babysitting isn't as easy as they'd first believed. How do you keep an eye on a child that can flash away to other places?
1. The Newest Cullen

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any rights to Harry Potter or Twilight, and on the minuscule chance that either of the authors ever see this note, I thank you both from the bottom of my heart for sharing your stories with us.

**Side Note:** I know I've already altered enough to make this AU, but I hope you don't mind me changing two more things. The vampires in this series will not sparkle in sunlight and will have retractable fangs. I'm sorry, but there are just too many things I want them to do and I don't want to have to worry about sunlight interfering. Plus I think fangs are awesome.

**Phoenix Rising – Settling In**

Edward sat on the end of the couch in the Cullen's Alaskan home, perplexed. He had his nose buried in a book outlining common behavioral changes in abused children, as well as suggestions on how best to help the child heal from such trauma. Since Carlisle had purchased the book for his own personal library, Edward knew the author had to be top notch.

He glanced from the chapter he was reading on emotional abuse and neglect to the subject of his confusion. The little phoenix was currently full of giggles as she ran around the living room naked and dripping while Alice chased her with a towel, halfheartedly complaining about the puddles of water the child was leaving behind. The other Cullens watched with undisguised amusement as Hera dove between Jasper's legs and made for the front door.

Esme reached her seconds before her escape and handed the slippery child back to her towel-wielding sister. Alice carried the now pouting little girl to Hera's room to dress her for the day.

"Don't you dare put her in purple, Alice," Rosalie groused. "With her green wings she'll look like a Mardi Gras float!" The blonde grumbled before following her sisters, determined that nothing Alice picked out would be good enough for Hera.

All four male vampires shared a look, each wondering why women were so obsessed with selecting the perfect outfit. Esme just smiled knowingly and returned to the kitchen to finish cooking Hera's breakfast.

When Hera first arrived home with them a month ago, she was withdrawn. She wasn't scared of her adoptive family, per se, but she was wary of the new environment. Of course they were all prepared for this since the child had been uprooted twice in a short period of time, but Edward was expecting more trauma. He was, with good reason, scared of how many emotional hurdles they would have to face in order to get his little mate over the horrendous abuse she suffered at the Dursleys' house.

What was confusing the hell out of him was the fact that Hera was displaying none of the symptoms of any type of abuse listed within the pages of the book in his lap. He knew the Flamels weren't lying about the tortures little Hera went through… could she have repressed everything? Was she going to suddenly remember the pain at some point later in her life? He shook his head to clear away the image of a teen-aged Hera reaching for her high school diploma before collapsing in screams from the return of the horrible memories.

Or perhaps this has something to do with her healing abilities as a phoenix… was Hera able to heal mental ailments as well as physical?

So many questions! Unfortunately, all of Nicolas' books on phoenixes were written from an outsider's point of view. Not one of them was authored by an actual member of that species, and they all, therefore, lack a great deal of information. Plus phoenixes were so rare that even the Flamels, who've devoted a great portion of their lives to understanding all types of magical creatures, have never seen one in person.

He'd discussed this all with Carlisle as soon as Hera began getting over her initial shyness and started talking to them, but he'd had no more ideas than Edward. The head of their family finally suggested that they lay their concerns to rest and wait for any problem to manifest before they made an attempt to fix it. "After all," he had said, "you can't stitch up skin that hasn't yet been torn."

Edward sighed and placed the book on the table beside him. The problem, he mused, was not waiting for the proverbial skin to tear… it was finding the wound that was surely already formed. As much as his instincts were screaming at him to heal his mate, he had to concede that Carlisle was right. What could he possibly do to fix a child that always woke up with a smile and fought sleep tooth and nail in the reluctance to see her day end?

He grinned when the emerald-eyed girl, now clothed in a bright yellow sundress, reentered the room and climbed on his lap, beaming at him. She began babbling incoherently and, being the warm and loving mate that he was, Edward obediently nodded occasionally as if he understood every word perfectly. Though he could read her thoughts to help him understand what she was trying to tell him, they were often as confusing as her speech… cycling rapidly through different toys, foods, and anything else that had sparked her interest as of late.

* * *

"Family meeting," Carlisle announced that evening after he'd read his newest daughter to sleep with the children's book Esme had picked up earlier in the day.

The vampires appeared in a blur of motion from wherever they had previously been and each took a spot at the dining table. Carlisle smiled as he noticed all attention was now firmly on him.

"I have a few things to discuss with you. First of all, I received notice from the hospital that I'm expected to attend a medical conference next weekend in New York. I had originally declined the invitation only to find out today from the administrator that it's mandatory since I skipped the last two." He adopted a sour expression. "My ticket has already been purchased, and I'm expected to prepare a speech for the event."

His children all snickered, knowing how much he hated such things.

"Loathe as I am to leave the house in the hands of teenagers," he continued, smiling at the sudden influx of laughter, "Esme will be going with me."

"House party!" Emmett ducked his wife's hand as she tried to smack him.

"If you wake Hera up I will slaughter you," Rosalie growled.

The brawny vampire looked sheepish and muttered a quick apology. Everyone silently stared at the ceiling for a moment to ensure that the child was still sleeping before Carlisle continued with the meeting.

"The final item of import is a letter I received from Nicolas letting me know that he sent word of Hera to a school in Ireland that caters strictly to magical creatures." He pulled out a different letter and skimmed over it, ignoring his children's sudden growls. "I'm not sure how, but we've already been sent a missive from said school… The Ardaigh Institute of Magic."

Edward scowled fiercely. "We're not sending my mate to Ireland, Carlisle! Not only will she be unprotected, but she'll be way too close to the people who abandoned her, bound her magic and wings, and placed her in the hands of child abusers!"

Carlisle put up his hands in a placating manner as all of his children looked ready to mutiny. "Calm down, everyone… no one's planning to ship Hera off on the next ship to Ireland, but we will have to be made aware of our options when it comes to her education. Nicolas wouldn't have mentioned it if this school wasn't a good choice for her.

"Now the Deputy Headmaster, Professor Seamus Fredrickson will be stopping by tomorrow at three. All I'm asking is that we greet him in a friendly manner and remain civil while he tells us why his school would be a good match for Hera... okay?"

Jasper growled out, "He's not a werewolf, is he?"

Carlisle sighed. "I don't know, but even if he is we will treat him with the utmost respect until he does something to show himself unworthy of it."

Emmett raised his hand as if he were in school. "Yes, Emmett?"

"If he does show himself unworthy of that respect can we eat him?"

Alice stared at her brother in horror. "You would eat a werewolf? Gross!"

Needless to say, Carlisle called an end to the family meeting not much later.

* * *

Thanks again to all of you who reviewed "First Meeting". You guys made me smile so much :)


	2. Seamus Fredrickson

See chapter 1 for disclaimer and notes

**Chapter 2 – Seamus Fredrickson**

Dawn was fast becoming Edward's favorite time of day, the vampire mused as he snuck into his mate's room to watch her sleep. After they had returned home from the Flamel's private island in Europe, Esme, Alice, and Rosalie had gone crazy in regards to decorating a room for Hera.

The results were astonishing, to say the least.

Jasper and Emmett had put their vast woodworking knowledge to the test to build a toddler bed shaped like a castle good enough to be in any fairytale. The bed had been painted to resemble weathered stone, and the room's walls were designed to look like a forest scene. Esme had fun adding in trees and the occasional woodland creature. After everything was done, Hera had been one excited little phoenix.

A soft murmur of sound pulled Edward from his thoughts. He smiled fondly as the child turned over to burrow her face into the soft pillow, one tiny fist curled beside her nose.

Crossing the room, the vampire gazed out of the massive window at the real forest scene below them, lost in thought. Before he'd met Hera, Edward had often spent time asking himself why he was undeserving of a mate. These days he found himself wondering the opposite. He wished the universe would tell him what he'd done in his immortal life to be blessed with Hera as his chosen so he could keep doing it. Edward didn't feel as if he deserved this, but he was selfish enough to accept it nonetheless.

"E'wad!"

Edward blinked and smiled at the little ball of energy as she wiped the sleep from her eyes, never once losing that grin he'd come to love. "Good morning, sunshine!" He sat next to her as she crawled out of the covers to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "Did you have good dreams, Hera?"

The child nodded her sleep-tousled hair that gave Rosalie fits. No matter how much attention she gave it, Hera's hair refused to be tamed.

"Goo' d'eams, E'wad." Hera climbed down from the bed and ran to say good morning to the doll Jasper bought her as a welcome home gift. He was forever amused at the thought of how besotted the tough civil war vampire was with the tiny phoenix.

The vampire chuckled and picked up his babbling mate to help her get ready for her new day of adventures.

* * *

A sudden knocking on the Cullen's front door startled everyone in the family save Hera, who continued to happily play with her stuffed unicorn she named "Nibbles". Though the plushy was magically charmed to change the color of the horn constantly, the Cullens could easily pass it off as a battery-operated cuddly toy.

Since the time was exactly three o'clock, Carlisle was certain that Professor Fredrickson had arrived, though he was curious which method of travel the man used. Even the tiniest displacement of air from a house elf's arrival could easily be picked up via vampire hearing, so this was without a doubt the very first time someone had been able to approach their home without their knowledge.

Carlisle opened the door with Esme beside him, both wearing a gracious smile. They were stunned when they didn't see anyone on the other side of the door before the clearing of a throat had them looking down. There stood a man approximately two feet tall, wearing a dark grey suit and holding a briefcase that was half as tall as himself. His hair was a dark auburn and full of curls. Though he had a stern expression on his face, prominent laugh lines told the story of a man who loved to joke and smile.

Esme grinned, reaching out to shake the man's hand. "Welcome to our home, Professor Fredrickson, I presume?"

"I am indeed, Madam," the ruddy-cheeked man said with a thick Irish brogue and entered the sitting room at the behest of Carlisle. He waved away the offer of refreshment and faced the family after Esme had taken care of the introductions.

"I'm certain you all have many questions for me. Allow me to answer a few of them right away: Yes, leprechauns do exist, I don't have a pot o' gold, and I'm not after anyone's Lucky Charms."

Emmett fell off the couch laughing.

After the ice was broken, Fredrickson soon won them over with the description of his school. You could see the love in his warm brown eyes as he outlined the institute's mission to provide quality education to all magical creatures, many of whom would be rejected by the mainstream schools of wizardry because of their heritage.

"You won't hear this from many of the wand-wavers, as we tend to call them, but Ardaigh has been listed as the world's leading school of magic for the last five years. It took us some time, but we finally beat Dragon Academy in Hong Kong," he said with a conspiratorial smile. Seamus opened his briefcase and removed a pamphlet from within before magically copying it and handing it out to his hosts. "This ranking is based on things such as average student grades, successes in job placement after graduation, and a few other odds and ends."

The leprechaun gave them a moment to scan the colorful brochure before looking around. "So, where's our future student? My good friend Nicolas wouldn't tell me anything about her other than the fact that she's female and currently three years of age."

Carlisle blinked before looking at the corner where Hera had been playing before and found it to be empty. "Hera?"

Edward stood up, prepared to hunt down the little girl who had slipped away from them so silently. He relaxed as his ears picked up sounds coming from her room. Tiny feet, accompanied by childish laughter preceded the phoenix into the sitting room. She ran to her daddy, who gently turned her around to introduce her. "Hera, I'd like to introduce you to this nice gentleman, Professor Fredrickson. Professor, this is our little princess, Hera Jasmine Cullen."

Frederickson gasped, nearly falling from the tiny chair that he had conjured for himself. "Bless me stars… she's a phoenix!" His eyes widened almost comically before he began to grumble. "Blast that Flamel… he's probably having a great laugh as we speak. Bet he's got monitoring spells up, watching me jaw hit the floor, the louse!"

His eyes returned to their previous awestruck state before he stood up to stand closer to Hera, who was actually almost a half-foot taller than the leprechaun. "It's a great pleasure to meet you, lass," he smiled gently to the little girl. "I've not seen the likes of your kind in well over four centuries!"

Hera looked bewildered and upset before running to beg Edward to pick her up. The tawny-haired immortal understood immediately from her thoughts why she was agitated. He reassured her that they weren't getting rid of her, and that the "nice professor" was just here to visit, not to take her away.

Carlisle smiled sadly at his little girl before explaining Hera's situation to their guest. "It never occurred to me before, but both times that she's met new people, she has been taken away by them."

Fredrickson chuckled. "Well, part o' me wishes I could take her back to the school with me now just so's I can see the expressions on everyone's faces when I prove to them that not all phoenixes have gone away to their homeland!"

"Their homeland," Alice questioned.

"Aye. Only the phoenixes know for certain where it is, but I've heard it's a magical place, more so than anywhere we've been, filled with beauty and splendor beyond your wildest dreams." He scratched his tiny head. "O' course the lad who told me that was a phoenix who went by the name of Adel and he was somewhat of a prankster so who knows if he was telling the truth," he added with a shrug.

The rest of the visit went better than the Cullens were expecting. Fredrickson assured the vampires that Hera would have a place at their school when she was ready to begin her education. Unlike magical humans, The Ardaigh Institute placed monitoring charms on all prospective students that let the school staff know when the individual's powers were ready for training. When Edward expressed his worries about leaving his mate unprotected for so long, the deputy headmaster glanced at him with an odd expression.

"She's a phoenix, laddie! Hera'll be able to flash there for classes, then back here when she's done. And I guarantee you she'll be safe from everything, including the wand-wavers, when she's in our halls." He cast a serious gaze around the room. "Believe me when I say we take the safety of our students very seriously at Ardaigh. For far too many years magical beings have been treated like nothin' more than trained pets or cheap sources of potions ingredients by wizards."

"Or bloodthirsty monsters," Rosalie spat. "Vampires don't even feel a pull to the blood of magical beings and we still are ostracized by their communities."

"But you're forgetting, Rosalie," Jasper added sarcastically, "If we consent to being branded like cattle we're welcome to live happily in a guarded compound drinking a yummy blood alternative potion for the rest of our immortal existence!"

Emmett snorted. "Do me a favor, Jas… remind me of that the next time I complain about having to start high school again?"

* * *

Thanks to all who've reviewed and/or favorited my stories!


	3. Missing

Love all the wonderful reviews! I decided to go ahead and upload two chapters tonight to say thank you for reading my stories. And Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

**Chapter 3 - Missing**

Jasper growled menacingly, amber eyes trained unwaveringly on his prey as he began to inch his way closer. A high-pitched shriek met his ears followed by the increased scent of adrenaline in the air. The blonde vampire smirked and prepared for the chase. This was his favorite part of the hunt… the moment when the quarry realizes their safety is no longer assured.

"No, Ja'per!"

Emmett laughed loudly at the sight of his brother pretending to chase after Hera. The tiny three-year-old squealed with excitement as she dodged the blonde vampire's halfhearted attempts to snatch her from the ground. He and Edward had paused in their game of catch in order to watch the spectacle. Just as Jasper's hands were about to grab the little girl, a sudden flash of what looked to be green fire encompassed the phoenix and when it left little Hera was transported to parts unknown.

Jasper gasped in a mixture of shock and panic, multiplied by three as his brothers' emotions swept through him. "Hera?!"

All three paused, their senses reaching as far as possible in order to ascertain where the little girl went. The visiting deputy headmaster had warned them that Hera was very strong and more of her powers would be manifesting soon, but the reality of it was much more frightening.

"Okay… everyone calm down," Emmett said. "She can't have gone far."

Edward, whose eyes had turned the color of onyx in his panic, looked incredulously at his brother. "Can't have gone far?! Did you not hear the part where Fredrickson said Hera would be able to flash to school in **Ireland** when she started?!" Consumed with worry, the tawny-haired vampire began to pace. "What if she flashed herself into a volcano… or a snake pit… or to the top of a tree?"

Emmett scratched his head. "She would just fly down, right?" At his brothers' level stares he continued, "Well, she's got wings!"

Edward gasped with sudden realization and clutched the front of Emmett's shirt. "What if she appears in front of humans?!"

"Okay… enough!" Jasper tried once again to calm them down to a state where they could think logically, willing away images of Hera strapped down to a table while the military tried to dissect her for study. "We'll find her. Emmett, you go check the house, Edward… the pond. I'll look by the road. When you're finished with your area, we'll meet back here."

All three vampires disappeared in a blur, only to reappear a few minutes later with no Hera in tow. Edward growled in frustration and pulled out his cell phone. "I'm calling Alice."

"NO!" Emmett dove for the phone, but Edward easily dodged the attempt. "If Rosalie finds out we lost Hera, she'll castrate all three of us!"

Jasper scoffed. "We didn't lose Hera, Emmett… she lost herself."

Emmett looked aghast at his brother. "Do you honestly think that will matter to Rosalie? Have you even **met** Rosalie?!"

Edward glared. "And how do you think she'll react when she finds out we had a chance to find her through Alice but didn't utilize it?"

The brawny vampire's eyes widened. "You're right… she'll have our balls either way."

Edward placed the phone to his ear, waiting impatiently for his sister to pick up. "Alice, look for Hera," he urged before the seer could even get a word out. He and his two brothers cringed when they heard Rosalie's voice in the background spit out an enraged "What?!"

Suddenly Rosalie was on the line, most likely having snatched the phone out of Alice's hand. "You three listen to me… if one hair is out of place on that baby's head I'm going to rip all three of yours off and bury them in a place where your mates will never find them. And Emmett McCarty, I won't even be looking for yours!"

Emmett whimpered in fright, knowing his head strong mate would be more than willing to follow through on her promise.

Alice's voice came back on the line, sounding much relieved. "I'm getting no information telling me where she is now, but I do see her flashing back into her room safely."

All three males and Rosalie snapped out, "When?"

"No idea… it'll be daylight, so I'm hoping it's still today."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Edward ended the call and raced off at full vampire speed to Hera's room, ready to inspect his mate for any damage upon her return. He was soon joined by Emmett and Jasper, and all three waited anxiously.

* * *

Meanwhile….

Hera gasped as she experienced flashing for the first time. She was confused at first because one moment she was playing with her big brother and then she was suddenly in another place. The phoenix wasn't scared because she knew in her heart that her Edward wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to her.

So it was with that thought that she decided to explore this new world she found.

At first Hera thought she had only flashed herself deeper into the forest surrounding her home, for everything around her was lush and green, but then she realized that none of the places she'd seen have ever been **this** green! Thick vines stretched as far as she could see into the trees. The ground beneath her feet was soft from layers upon layers of fallen leaves.

A cacophony of birdsong and animal chatter filled her hears as she curiously explored her new environment. Hera giggled as a small monkey appeared on a low hanging branch in a nearby tree in order to inspect her. Though she was much too short to reach him she still reached up toward the furry little creature causing the primate to look at her oddly before disappearing into the taller branches once again.

Hera pouted for a moment before the tinkling sound of laughter distracted her. Running through the thick foliage wasn't easy, but curiosity kept her mind from the struggle.

Finally reaching a clearing, the phoenix was able to see from where the joyous sounds were coming.

* * *

Three hours had gone by as the five eternal teens, (Alice and Rosalie having returned from their shopping trip two and a half hours ago), kept vigil.

Time had never passed so slowly to the vampires stuck waiting for the small child's return, and inside the tension-filled atmosphere Edward couldn't help but imagine all kinds of perilous situations in which the phoenix could have found herself. Unfortunately for him, he was a mind reader and thus had to contend with his siblings' imaginations as well. Amidst the fear and frustration, he found a small bit of amusement in the fact that all five of them at one point or another had visualized Hera appearing at the seminar with Carlisle and Esme just as her father was making his planned speech to the room full of medical professionals.

Part of him was grateful that Hera chose to pull this while Esme was away. If it were possible for a vampire to have a heart attack, she would be the best candidate to test the theory.

He was coming in at a close second.

* * *

I thought some of you may be tired of waiting for some drama, so here you go :)


	4. The Mages Council

This chapter is dedicated to icyquest4, who reminded me of the uplifting power of phoenix song. Thank you!

**Chapter 4 – The Mages Council**

Hera gazed curiously at the remarkable clearing before her. Though she knew she was in a jungle, there was a room somehow incorporated into the foliage. A large white marble platform took up half of the area and upon it was a magnificent navy blue shiny table shaped like a crescent moon. Many strands of lights were woven into the trees above the platform, and were not powered by any source of electricity that Hera could see. Behind the table was a large marble archway framing a corridor which lead to places unknown.

Seated at the table and facing her direction were one of the most beautiful groups of people she had ever seen… all were wearing white silk robes and they had wings like her! She remained partially hidden behind a tree so that she could continue to observe the four strangers without being noticed.

There were three men and a woman, all of which were talking with each other amiably. Two of the men looked so very much alike that Hera kept staring from one to the other, attempting to find a single difference. Both seemed tall like her brother Emmett and had dark, wild hair that reminded her of a lion's mane. They had kind eyes, though, the color of both pairs only a few shades lighter than the table before them. Being ignorant of the concept of identical twins, the little girl shook her head in frustration and focused instead of the woman who was next in line.

Her eyes and wings were almost a slate grey color, and her hair was a beautiful silver that looked almost like a liquid. Hera felt an urge to touch it, but was much too shy. The last man had short spiky hair the color of fire and his wings and eyes were a rich brown. Altogether he reminded the child of the color of trees in autumn. She gasped when she saw that the man on the end had noticed her perusal and was now smiling at her, beckoning her forward!

With four sets of eyes now resting on her, Hera was tempted to run away to find her brothers, but there was something about these people that called to her, making her instinctively trust them. So, after placing her thumb inside her mouth for security, Hera bravely climbed the small set of steps to the platform.

The lone woman gracefully rose from her seat and came around the table to stand before the small child. Never once losing her smile, she knelt down so as to be on a somewhat equal level with the tiny visitor. "Hello little one! What is your name?"

Feeling less shy since she didn't have someone towering over her, Hera removed her thumb and answered the pretty lady. "'M Hewa."

"Hera," she confirmed, beaming when the child nodded sagely. "That is a pretty name, for such a pretty girl." The woman opened her arms and seemed to light up with joy when Hera moved into them with only a brief hesitation. She stood back up with the child safely cradled in her arms. "My name is Ahna, child. These two on the end are Liko and Niko, and my other friend is Rynex."

Each of the men called out a friendly greeting that had Hera relaxing further. She pointed to the two who brought her the most confusion. "T'ame?"

The one named Niko laughed joyously before answering. "We're not the same, little one. We're twin brothers. He leaned closer to the child and mock whispered, "I'm told we look alike, but I think I'm much nicer looking than him, don't you?"

Though she didn't fully understand the question, Hera recognized it as his attempt to make her giggle and so appeased him as Ahna retook her seat with the girl now on her lap. Hera began playing with the tassels of the lady's robe as the adults spoke about her.

"She's so young, Ahna… not even yet a fledgling! How can this be," Rynex exclaimed.

Niko nodded. "She's the youngest yet. Ashtan was only eight summers old before he found himself before us, and his age left us bewildered for a century, if I remember correctly."

"I agree, brother," Liko added. "If she's half as powerful as he was, then perhaps it would be best for her to be brought up with her own kind," he spoke tentatively as if knowing the response to his suggestion would ruffle his companions' feathers.

Rynex's brown eyes narrowed in indignation. "We do not separate younglings from loving families, Liko Mahanne! You know this."

"I do know this! But you know my concerns are valid. Remember Ashtan's fledgling years? Tell me, Rynex… have the mortals yet discovered what became of Atlantis?"

Ahna's soft voice interrupted any rebuttal the auburn-haired phoenix was prepared to make. "She will not remain here. I can sense the bond of her mate pulling her from us as we speak." She gazed at her companions with eyes holding millennia of wisdom and love. "If fate has blessed her by allowing her to find her mate so young, then who are we to interfere?"

Liko sighed despondently, knowing that once Ahna has spoken no one would dare oppose her. "Well I hope she doesn't live in the Virgin Islands. I rather like vacationing there and I'd hate for it to disappear before I get to return."

Ahna's laughter rang through the clearing and made Hera feel giddy with joy. Stealing one last hug from the child, Ahna bade her farewell. "Go, my child. Return to your family before their worry grows any further."

Hera felt the same warmth in her tummy that she did before finding her way here and knew that she was going back home. Right before her vision was obscured by green flames she heard Ahna's voice in her head whispering that they would meet again someday.

* * *

Edward felt an unexplainable warmth within his chest a second before the mysterious green fire appeared on Hera's bed. He was up with his arms around his mate even before the flames completely disappeared. When Rosalie tried to snatch Hera from him he bared his teeth and growled at her before backing away from the others while scenting for any trace of blood or illness on the child.

Just as Rosalie was about to tackle Edward, Alice latched onto her. "Not while he's holding Hera, Rose!"

The blonde huffed in response and crossed her arms, glaring daggers at her older brother. "Well, Edward is she okay?"

Her answer was a feral growl. Emotions ran high despite Jasper's efforts at manipulating the air. Knowing he wouldn't succeed until Edward's vampire was out of its feral state, he gave up trying to calm everyone with his gift and resigned himself to the massive headache taking hold inside his skull.

As if sensing the fact that her brother was in pain, Hera peeked her bright green eyes out at Jasper from Edward's protective embrace and began to hum. None of them had ever heard the tune before and were wondering if it was something she'd learned or just made up on the spot. The amazing thing was the fact that Hera's humming infused them all with a sense of joy and contentment.

Jasper couldn't keep the smile off his face as the joy from Hera's song was amplified through the other vampires. He stared in amazement as the phoenix slid down from her suddenly content mate and ran to him. Kneeling down in order to receive the loving hug she offered, Jasper chuckled when Hera asked, "Aw bettah?"

Placing an affectionate kiss on his baby sister's forehead, he nodded. "All better. Thanks, darlin'."

* * *

The five eternal teens were relieved when they heard the sound of their father's car pulling into the long drive. Hera looked up with a squeal of delight from her blocks as she caught sight of her mommy and daddy.

Esme rushed around Carlisle, who was carrying their bags, and opened her arms wide. "Oh my sweet little Hera, I'm gonna get you!"

She wasn't expecting her five older children's gasp of horror, followed by a scream of "No!" Edward then pounced on his mate and held her tightly. Esme shared a bewildered look with Carlisle before her husband asked what was wrong.

Alice told them all about Hera's disappearance for hours, and how they never got a single clue out of the child that would suggest to them where she had been other than the fact that she smelled like a rainforest. The pixie-like vampire then summed up what she and the others had decided. "No more chasing games until she's got a handle on flashing. We're going to have to either contact Fredrickson, who has experience with phoenixes or figure out a way to help her ourselves."

Emmett nodded. "I suggested putting the necklace on her that dampens her powers until you guys returned but Edward threatened to barbeque me."

Carlisle plucked the child that had caused so much trouble this weekend from Edward's arms and looked her square in the eye. "Did you flash away, Hera?"

The three-year-old nodded solemnly.

"Do you remember how," he asked and was rewarded with another nod. "Okay. You're not allowed to flash away from us unless we say it's okay. Do you understand?"

Hera snuggled into his shoulder. "O'tay daddy."

Emmett snorted with amusement. "That'll never work!" He turned to Edward and asked, "Will it," in an unsure manner.

Edward just shrugged as he watched his mate reach for Esme. "I guess we'll find out."

* * *

This is the end of "Settling In". Thanks again to all the wonderful people who have reviewed and/or favorited my stories. I wasn't expecting a large amount of interest, so believe me when I say each and every one of you have brought me an indescribable amount of joy.

I know many of you are anxious to get to the upcoming Potter drama, but you're just going to have to be patient for a while longer. Hera will be five in the next story, and the Potters won't know the truth about her until she's seven. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but at the same time I want to make it into something that's worth the wait.


End file.
